drywall sheets and inserting them into
an upstairs window of a new house —
all under control by a person with a
wireless RC panel similar to the
concrete pumper. The operator scoops
up a bundle of drywall sheets with an
end-effector similar to a forklift, but
the forks move up vertically as the
drywall is presented at the window
where a person easily removes each
sheet. As anyone who’s done any
drywall installations knows, these
sheets are not only very heavy but are
extremely fragile if they are dropped or
even bumped into a sharp object.

Carrying them up a partially completed
stairwell one at a time is a dangerous and tiring task that
used to be ‘part of the job’ just a few years ago, but
modern robotic technology has taken over the hardest part
of a drywall installation job.

At another house under construction, I saw a roofing
shingle truck delivering bundles of shingles to the peak of
the house via a long conveyor belt system. A person on the
truck would place an eight pound bundle of shingles at the
bottom of the inclined conveyor and a person at the peak
would remove them one at a time and stack them into
position. It wasn’t too long ago when roofers would carry a
heavy bundle over their shoulder as they climbed a ladder
to the roof. When I talked to the guy at the bottom of the
conveyor, he told me that he had heard that a remotely-controlled conveyor system was ‘in the works’ where a
single person on the ground could operate it to place
bundles all across the peak, using just a single RC panel.

Roofing and drywall workers have always been at the
top of the list of serious on-the-job injuries. Decades ago,
these robotic applications didn’t exist, though I am sure
that workers in the various construction categories wished
for some sophisticated machines (like a robot) to make their
jobs easier and safer. Microcontroller technology coupled
with powerful motor controllers and inexpensive and capable
wireless modules have allowed robotic technology to be
moved from the factory floor to other
locations for numerous applications.

Industrial Robot
Applications

While watching these basic
construction jobs, I got to thinking
about all the other applications that
robotics technology has encompassed
since its beginnings — from commercial,
Dedicated CNC machining centers are faster and more
efficient for machining individual intricate metal parts, but
robots can handle a vast array of manufacturing tasks
within the factory environment outside of basic machining.
These tasks can include, among others: spot welding,TIG,
MIG, wire welding, resistance welding, paint spraying, parts
transfer, pick and place, machine loading, palletizing,
dangerous parts handling, deburring, torch cutting of
metal, circuit board assembly, glass handling, order picking,
and food/product packaging, plus numerous other
categories and sub categories of robotics in manufacturing.

Robots and factory automation go hand-in-hand with
automatic conveyor systems, vision systems, dedicated
machining centers, and warehouse systems to create very
sophisticated robot applications within the industry. Virtually
every robot company offers something for industrial
applications. Modern industry the world over has found that
it must implement robots in their manufacturing processes
to stay competitive. There are basically four possibilities for
completing any factory task that engineers can consider:
humans, robots, dedicated automation, or a combination of
all three. They must also look at the Four Ds of Robotics: “Is
the task dangerous, dirty, difficult, or dull?” Paint spraying
is a good example of all four of these considerations and
was quickly implemented into automobile assembly lines
around the world; same with spot welding of car bodies.

FIGURE 2. Drywall boom crane.

Service Robot Applications

FIGURE 3. German

Goliath light
charge carrier.

Service robots didn’t exist at the beginning of the
industry, but inventive robot designers soon discovered that
the basic advantages to robotic technology existed outside
the manufacturing sector. The Four Ds apply to all areas
being considered for using robots, not just industrial
applications. Service robot applications are usually mobile; a
gray area of this category might be AGVs (automated
guided vehicles) that move parts around a factory floor.